Dennis Hallman

— Slick grappler and longtime veteran Dennis Hallman will reportedly make his official return to the UFC against John Howard at UFC 106, which will likely take place on November 21 in Las Vegas. Hallman has not fought in the UFC since dropping a unanimous decision to Jorge Rivera at UFC 55. Howard has earned a pair of split decisions over Tamdan McCrory and Chris Wilson in his two UFC bouts. [MMA Junkie]

— Dan Miller has reportedly been forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC Fight Night 19 bout against “Ultimate Fighter” product C.B. Dollaway and will be replaced by UFC newcomer Jay Silva. Miller is said to be suffering from an undisclosed infection. Silva will make his UFC debut carrying a five-fight winning streak to start his professional career, including three wins by way of knockout. [MMA Madness]

- Dennis “Superman” Hallman is set to begin his fourth stint with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. According to reports, Hallman has signed a four-fight contract with the UFC but no opponent or date his been set. [MMA Junkie]

- International Fight League veteran Brad Blackburn signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC. Blackburn is 3-0 in the UFC with victories over James Giboo, Ryo Chonan, and Edgar Garcia. Blackburn recently underwent shoulder surgery and will not return to the octagon until 2010. [MMA Junkie]

“Smokin” Joe Villasenor raises his arms in triumph over Evangelista Cyborg Friday night in the main event on the second Strikeforce Challengers series on Showtime. Photo by Esther Lin/Strikeforce.

VILLASENOR DECISIONS CYBORG IN MAIN EVENT; GURGEL AND HEUN PROVIDE CROWD-PLEASING FIREWORKS; KENNEDY AND KAUFMAN EACH SCORE VICTORIES
KENT, Wash. – “Smokin” Joe Villasenor showed no signs of rust after a year away from the cage as he recorded a close split decision over Evangelista “Cyborg” in the main event of the sophomore edition of Strikeforce Challengers Friday night on Showtime before an enthusiastic crowd at the ShoWare Center.
In a gritty and tactical battle all the way to the end, Villasenor proved victorious winning on two of the three judges scorecards, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. “I haven’t fought in over a year and that’s a great fight to come back to,” Villasenor said afterwards. “A three-round war. I was really surprised by (Cyborg’s) countering. It turned into a great fight.”

— Former pound-for-pound phenom Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto will return to action a little less than two months after suffering his first professional MMA loss in seven years at K-1’s “World MAX 2009” event on July 13 in a kickboxing bout. “Kid” will be fighting Jae hee Cheon in a three-round matchup. Other notable MMA fighters competing include Tatsuya Kawajiri and Atsushi Yamamoto. [Japan-MMA.com]

— Longtime veteran Dennis Hallman will now be facing training partner Justin Davis in a catch-weight bout at tomorrow night’s “Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg” event at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington. Hallman was originally slated to take on Cedric Marks, who was forced out of the bout after reportedly competing this past weekend and acquiring a medical suspension because of it. A lightweight bout between Jorge Gurgel and Conor Heun will also now be contested at a catch-weight of 160 lbs. [MMA Junkie]

NEW YORK — Middleweight (185 pound) wrecking machines “Smokin” Joey Villasenor (26-6) and Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos (16-12) will face off in the main event of a Strikeforce Challengers mixed martial arts (MMA) card at the all-new ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington on Friday, June 19.

— Just one day after Jason MacDonald was handed his walking papers by the UFC, three other fighters were as well: David Loiseau, Ryo Chonan and David Bielkheden. Loiseau’s UFC return last just one fight as he dropped a lackluster unanimous decision to Ed Herman at UFC 97. Chonan and Bielkheden fell at the event as well, and both fighters had posted unfavorable 1-2 records inside the Octagon. [Sherdog.com]

— Rick Roufus-trained Eric Schafer has reportedly been forced to withdraw from his scheduled light heavyweight bout against Tomasz Drwal at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale in June because of a rib injury. Drwal’s new opponent will apparently be Miletich Fighting Systems product Mike Ciesnolevicz according to the The Times of Northwest Indiana. Ciesnolevicz last fought at UFC 95, earning his first UFC win with a first-round submission of Neil Grove. [MMA Junkie]

— Seasoned MMA veteran Dennis “Superman” Hallman will reportedly return to action as part of the second edition of Sho MMA’s “Strikeforce Challenger Series” on June 19 in Kent, Washington. An opponent for Hallman has not yet been finalized. Hallman last competed at Square Ring Promotions “March Badness” show in March, submitting Danny Ruiz in the first round. [MMA Weekly]

Former World Wrestling Entertainment star Bobby Lashley took a step up in competition and won in just his second professional fight, grinding out a unanimous decision over experienced veteran Jason Guida in a featherweight bout at Square Ring Promotions “March Badness” event on Saturday in Pensacola, Florida.

Also victorious was one-time UFC heavyweight title contender Jeff Monson, who earned a controversial unanimous nod over former IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson. Notable veterans Din Thomas and Dennis Hallman also found the win column during the show as well. Future boxing hall-of-famer Roy Jones Jr. scored a fifth-round TKO of Omar Sheika in the night’s boxing main event.

The California State Athletic Commission has announced that Dennis Hallman tested positive for Drostanolone and Nandrolone Metabolite following his victory over Jeremiah Metcalf at Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives.

The CSAC has issued Hallman a $2,500 fine along with a 1 year suspension.

This is the second suspension in as many days. Yesterday it was announced that journeyman Ruben “Warpath” Villareal had tested positive for 4-Hydroxytestosterone. Villareal also received a $2,500 fine and 1 year suspension.

Next month’s showdown between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva will finally answer the age-old question that has been haunting the minds of MMA fans for years as to who would win between the two if they ever fought.

The winner of the fight will receive a huge momentum boost going into the twlight of their career. The loser? Well they will have lost three fights in a row. The list of fighters that have lost three fights in a row is astounding in terms of size. The list of notable fighters that have dropped three straight bouts is pretty big as well.

So what does it take to come back from nearly falling into obscurity? Here’s a look at some well-known fighters that came out on the wrong end of the stick three or more consecutive times and managed to turn things around and get back on the winning track.

Hermes Franca: After a stint where he went 2-2 in the UFC, Franca left the promotion to try and work on his skills in smaller promotions before returning to the big show. However Franca ended up dropping three consecutive fights to Yves Edwards, Koutetsu Boku, and Ray Cooper before the end of 2005. Franca rebounded with an 8 fight winning streak and found himself challenging Sean Sherk for the UFC Lightweight Title this past July.

Nick Diaz: After knocking out touted prospect Robbie Lawler at UFC 47, Diaz found himself being advertised as the future of the UFC’s welterweight division. Diaz ended up struggling for the rest of his UFC career and ultimately lost three straight fights to top competition in Sherk, Joe Riggs, and Diego Sanchez before finding himself out of a Zuffa-owned promotion. Diaz was brought back towards the end of 2006 for two fairly easy fights but ended up heading to PRIDE where he pulled off a huge upset over Takanori Gomi before the fight was changed to a no contest.

Tengiz Tedoradze:The Eastern Europe native became one of England’s top heavyweight prospects by 2004. Tedoradze then ran into a brick wall when he lost to Jeff Monson, Antonio Silva, and then Monson once again in three straight fights. Tedoradze turned his fortunes around by racking up a respectable 10-2-1 record while establishing himself as the best fighter over 205 lbs that the U.K. has to offer.

Mark Coleman: Coleman tore through the UFC in his first six fights, knocking off Gary Goodridge, Don Frye, and Dan Severn along the way. Then Coleman gassed in a heavyweight title opportunity against Maurice Smith. The infamous knockout at the hands of Pete Williams followed and a decision loss to Pedro Rizzo forced Coleman to travel to Japan in hopes of jumpstarting his career. “The Hammer” did just that when he won the 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix in impressive fashion.

Denis Kang: Kang struggled greatly in the first few years of his career and dropped three straight fights to mediocre competition at one point. Kang’s inconscitency continued until he found himself at home in Spirit MC where he became the promotion’s heavyweight champion. Two years later Kang found himself nearly becoming PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix champion and currently is widely regarded as one of the top middleweights in the world by many.

Chael Sonnen:Sonnen had acquired a solid reputation as being a skilled middleweight during the first couple years of his career that found fighting mainly on the West Coast for the most part. The Team Quest product ended up losing three fights in a row in 2004, two of them to MMA veteran Jeremy Horn. Sonnen rebounded and worked his way into a stint in the UFC. Undefeated since leaving the home of the Octagon last year, Sonnen now finds himself challenging an undefeated Paulo Filho for the WEC Middleweight Title on December 12th.

Dennis Hallman: The man they nicknamed “Superman” had racked up an eye-opening record of 10-1 before falling to a trio of creditable middleweights in the form of Caol Uno, Paul Rodriguez, and eventual UFC Middleweight Champion Dave Menne in sequential bouts. Hallman ended up turning things around and ended up putting together a respectable career that included three separate stints in the UFC and was highlighted by the second of two quick submission wins over Matt Hughes.

Jorge Santiago needed less than three minutes in order to capture the state of California and Strikeforce’s first-ever four-man mixed martial arts tournament last night.

Santiago scored victories over Sean Salmon and Trevor Prangley in front of 8,233 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA.

Both Santiago and Prangley headed into the tournament in relatively good shape considering they had each fought earlier in the evening. They decided to keep the bout on the feet during the opening moments of their fight. Santiago battered Prangley with a flurry of leg kicks early on, connecting with one that knocked Prangley to the ground.

Santiago continued to stalk Prangley connecting with a number of unanswered punches and kicks. Santiago connected with a knee to the body and followed it up with a right hand that sent Prangley to the canvas. Santiago pounced on him and following up with another right hand but referee Jon Schorle decided that Prangley had enough and stopped the fight.

After the fight, Santiago admitted that sticking to his game plan ultimately won him the fight:

“I’ve been studying his game for a long time and I knew that he was a tough guy,” said Santiago. “I knew that he was probably going to try and take me down and drop some bombs. I just stuck to my game. I saw the best time to go and I took over.”